GBTA: Hurricane Sandy Could Have Severe Impact on Biz Travel
by Maria Lenhart /Hurricane Sandy, the massive storm expected to barrel through the East Coast early this week, could cost the industry several hundred million dollars in spending on business travel, according to a new research model devised by the Global Business Travel Association.
Even as weather forecasters continued to revise their outlook for the storm nicknamed "Frankenstorm," GBTA issued a statement projecting the cancellation of several hundred thousand business trips.
Category 3 storm
GBTA said it had conducted research to quantify the impact of major weather events on the business travel industry. The research report used GBTA’s Business Travel Quarterly methodology to measure impact from a theoretical Category-3 hurricane on the East Coast.
The results can be applied to any significant weather event that leads to widespread shutdowns and canceled travel plans, such as Hurricane Sandy, according to a statement from GBTA.
Based on the GBTA research model, a Category-3 hurricane on the East Coast could cause business travel losses of up to 514,000 trips and $606 million in spending due to storm-related cancellations.
Impact on GDP
The report also predicted that the interrupted business trips could result in a total GDP loss of about $675 million and a potential loss of federal, state and local tax revenues of $176 million.
The 11 East Coast states in the path of the scenario storm could suffer an average business travel spending loss of up to $58 million a day, according to GBTA.